Wills

Our 'List of Early Orwell Wills' shows all the pre 1800 wills which can be seen at the Cambridge Record Office. We suggest that you should insist on the Record Office producing the originals - their microfilm copies are invariably very difficult to read.

In some cases, the original will of the Testator is shown. Other copies are not of the original will, but of the copy made by the Probate Court at the time for its own records.

We have also provided copies of the Inventories of some of the Testators. These are valuations of the property of the deceased, and provide an insight into the goods and belongings of the deceased, and in some cases they give a list of the contents of each room in the house. This helps to establish the size of the house and the number of rooms it had at the time. The Hearth Tax returns can then tell us how many of the rooms had a fireplace.

Further Wills of Orwell people can be found at The National Archives. These date from 1508 to 1917, and copies can be had on payment of a small fee.

Most Wills from this area were proved in the Ely Court. However, a few were proved in the main Probate Court at Canterbury. These are listed first, some being available from The National Archives. Pages 1 - 5 give the Cambs Record Office holdings.

"unto my loving wife during the term of her natural life ye hall and chamber over it with the goods in them and one acre of wheat one acre of barley and half acre of peas every year except she marrey again."

"I give unto her two silver spoons, seaven payres of sheetes, six pillow-biers, one dozen of napkins, one long table cloth, two pewter dishes of the middle sort, the best feather bed in the kitchen Chamber." With Inventory.